The Little World

It was decades before I figured it out. In fact, Airfix and Revell knew it long before me. But it finally took Phil Flory to wise me up.

The 5 ” P’s “: Paint Piddly Parts on the Plastic Prior to Parting them. Oh Gosh – I counted wrong. That’s 6 ” P’s “.

Of course Phil copped a slagging from Sweden over that. The IPMS anoraks considered him to be déclassé for resorting to this time-saving procedure. I think he rose above the criticism – I see he still broadcasts every day of the week – though probably not in Swedish…

I have been delighted with it, as I can bustle through the dog work of seats, wheels, propellers, etc. and let things dry while the tougher parts are being sanded and joined. One member of our modelling club has purpose-built racks in front of him as he builds – they hold up to a dozen sprue trees with parts in various stages of painting. His models are larger than mine and he builds them magnificently, so the idea is certainly not a bad one.

I like it as it enables me to get on with things while reducing the chance of losing small parts. I am prone to that – or should I say notorious? In many cases I have taken to taping components to the inside of the kit box to prevent their loss. Even then, the gremlins can unstick the tape…

Whatever, I am grateful to Phil for many procedures that work in less time – this is certainly one of them.